U.S. patent application number 13/810483 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-17 for ventilation arrangements.
This patent application is currently assigned to VKR HOLDINGS A/S. The applicant listed for this patent is Anthony Francis Cull, Nicholas John Hopper. Invention is credited to Anthony Francis Cull, Nicholas John Hopper.
Application Number | 20130273828 13/810483 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42735162 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130273828 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hopper; Nicholas John ; et
al. |
October 17, 2013 |
VENTILATION ARRANGEMENTS
Abstract
A ventilation arrangement housing which has an upper curved
guide member and a cruciform arrangement of divider plates to
define the housing into quadrants. Air may enter and exit the
housing via a louvre arrangement.
Inventors: |
Hopper; Nicholas John; (High
Wycombe, GB) ; Cull; Anthony Francis; (High Wycombe,
GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Hopper; Nicholas John
Cull; Anthony Francis |
High Wycombe
High Wycombe |
|
GB
GB |
|
|
Assignee: |
VKR HOLDINGS A/S
HORSHOLM
DK
|
Family ID: |
42735162 |
Appl. No.: |
13/810483 |
Filed: |
July 18, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
July 18, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB2011/001069 |
371 Date: |
March 25, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
454/260 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 7/02 20130101; F24F
2011/0002 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
454/260 |
International
Class: |
F24F 7/02 20060101
F24F007/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 19, 2010 |
GB |
1012115.0 |
Claims
1.-19. (canceled)
20. A ventilation arrangement for ventilating a building interior,
the ventilation arrangement comprising: an air duct which extends
in use from roof level into an interior of the building to be
ventilated to convey air between the exterior and interior of the
building; a housing with ventilation openings which extend around
an upper part of the air duct to direct moving air caused by wind
movement into or out of the air duct; the ventilation openings
having a louvre configuration defining a plurality of discrete
openings, one above each other; and a guide member provided in a
topmost part of the housing, the guide member providing a profiled
surface closing the top of the housing interior, with the profiled
surface curving concavely downwardly from the sides or adjacent the
sides of the housing to a substantially central apex, the guide
member also providing an elongate conduit extending downwardly from
the central apex to locate cables or other line means.
21. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which the
air duct is divided longitudinally by plates.
22. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 21, in which the
divider plates extend through slots in the profiled surface of the
guide member.
23. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 21, in which the
divider plates abut against the guide member.
24. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 21, in which the
divider plates divide the air duct into four quadrants.
25. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which one
or more formations are provided on the guide member engageable with
the louvre configuration.
26. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 25, in which the
guide member is offset such that the guide member engages with
adjacent divider plates at different respective spacings from the
central apex.
27. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 26, in which the
profiled surface of the guide member is non uniform between
adjacent divider plates.
28. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 27, in which the
divider plates have formations on their surfaces.
29. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 28, in which
grooves are provided on the divider plates.
30. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 29, in which the
grooves correspond to ridges on the opposite side of the divider
plates.
31. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 28, in which the
formations follow the profile of the guide member in the topmost
part of the housing.
32. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which
formations and/or trim lines are provided on the guide member to
permit the same design of guide member to be used with different
sizes of ventilation arrangements.
33. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which the
guide member is made of plastics material.
34. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 33, in which the
guide member is made by vacuum forming of recycled ABS.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a ventilation arrangement
for ventilating a building interior.
[0002] The provision of adequate ventilation is an important
consideration in building design. The combination of heat gains
generated within buildings by occupants and electrical equipment
and solar heat gain can cause a significant build up of heat and,
therefore overheating.
[0003] Air conditioning or other mechanical ventilation systems can
be used to provide ventilation to buildings to address these
difficulties. However, such systems consume electricity and can,
therefore, be relatively expensive to operate.
[0004] One prior arrangement is to provide a duct extending from
just above roof level into a building, with the upper end of the
duct connecting to outwardly facing openings extending around the
duct. During use air can enter the windward side of the duct
through respective openings, with stale air exiting from the
building through respective openings on the leeward side of the
duct.
[0005] In such a configuration, the duct is divided by radial
dividers, which could for instance divide the duct into four
quadrants, with the quadrant nearest the windward side receiving
the most air to ventilate the building, whilst the majority of air
extracted from the building exits through the opposite quadrant on
the leeward side of the arrangement.
[0006] According to the present invention there is provided a
ventilation arrangement for ventilating a building interior, the
ventilation arrangement comprising: an air duct which extends in
use from roof level into an interior of the building to be
ventilated to convey air between the exterior and interior of the
building; a housing with ventilation openings which extend around
an upper part of the air duct to direct moving air caused by wind
movement into or out of the air duct; the ventilation openings
having a louvre configuration defining a plurality of discrete
openings, one above each other; and a guide member provided in a
topmost part of the housing, the guide member providing a profiled
surface closing the top of the housing interior, with the profiled
surface curving concavely downwardly from the sides or adjacent the
sides of the housing to a substantially central apex.
[0007] The air duct may be divided longitudinally by divider
plates. The divider plates may extend through slots in the profiled
surface of the guide member, or alternatively the divider plates
may abut against the guide member. The divider plates may divide
the air duct into four quadrants.
[0008] The guide member may also provide an elongate conduit
extending downwardly from the central apex to locate cables or
other line means.
[0009] One or more formations may be provided on the guide member
engageable with the louvre configuration.
[0010] The guide member may be offset such that the guide member
engages with adjacent divider plates at different respective
spacings from the central apex.
[0011] The profiled surface of the guide member may be non uniform
between adjacent divider plates.
[0012] The divider plates may have formations on their surfaces,
and grooves may be provided on the divider plates, which grooves
may correspond to ridges on the opposite side of the divider
plates. The formations may follow the profile of the guide member
in the topmost part of the housing.
[0013] Formations and/or trim lines may be provided on the guide
member to permit the same design of guide member to be used with
different sizes of ventilation arrangements.
[0014] The guide member may be made of plastics material, and may
be made by vacuum forming for example of recycled ABS.
[0015] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described
by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross sectional side view of part
of a ventilation arrangement according to the invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic cross sectional plan view along the
line X-X of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view at a location corresponding
to the line Y-Y in FIG. 1 but of a first modified arrangement;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3 and illustrating areas of
large velocity;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a similar view to FIG. 3 but of a second modified
arrangement;
[0021] FIG. 6 is a similar view to FIG. 3 but of a third modified
arrangement;
[0022] FIG. 7 is a similar view to FIG. 1 but showing the dividing
plates, of a fourth modified arrangement according to the
invention; and
[0023] FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view along the line A-A of FIG.
7.
[0024] FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings show part of a ventilation
arrangement for ventilating the interior of a building. The
arrangement includes a housing 10 which is square in plan view, and
is mountable on a roof of a building. Within the housing 10 is the
top of a duct 12 which extends through the roof space to the
building interior. The duct 12 is divided into four quadrants by a
cruciform arrangement of divider plates 14. The plates 14 divide
the duct 12 such that air on the windward quadrant or quadrants
will enter the arrangement 10, as shown by the arrows 13. Air on
the leeward side will exit from the building interior through the
quadrant or quadrants on the leeward side of the building, as shown
by the arrows 15. A louvre arrangement 16 is provided on each side
of the housing 10 to permit air to enter into or exit
therefrom.
[0025] The top of the housing 10 is closed by a guide member 18.
The guide member 18 is formed by vacuum forming plastics material
such as recycled ABS. The guide member 18 extends from the tops of
the four louvre arrangements 16 and curves concavely down on each
side to a central apex 20. A relatively narrow square cross section
conduit 22 extends downwardly from the apex 20 to a lower part of
the ventilation arrangement 10.
[0026] Cruciform slots are formed in a lower part of the guide
member 18 to receive the divider plates 14, and retain same in
position. A locating rib 24 is provided around the guide member 18
towards the perimeter thereof to engage with the top of the louvre
arrangements 16.
[0027] Further locating ribs could be provided to enable the same
guide member 18 to be used with a smaller ventilation arrangement.
One or more trim lines (not visible) may also be provided on the
guide member 18 to permit use thereof with different size
ventilation arrangements.
[0028] In use, air entering through a one or more of the louvre
arrangements 16, and particularly through a top part thereof, will
be curved downwardly by the profiled surface of the guide member
18, as shown by the arrows 15. Air exiting the housing 10 through a
one of the louvre arrangements 16 will similarly be bent outwardly
towards the top of the housing 10, as shown by the arrows 13.
[0029] The guide member 18 causes a smooth and more efficient air
flow through the housing 10 than in previous designs. Cables and
other line means may run through the conduit 22, for instance from
a solar panel which may be provided on an upper part of the housing
10.
[0030] As indicated the same guide member can be used for a range
of different sizes of ventilation arrangements, by using an
appropriate one of the locating ribs, and cutting the guide member
along a one of the trim lines if required. The guide member also
provides structural support for the arrangement, including
providing support for the divider plates.
[0031] FIG. 3 shows a modified arrangement 30 where the guide
member 32 is mounted offset relative to the divider plates 14. This
means that the plates 14 and guide member 30 intercept at different
distances from their centre in adjacent plates 14. This arrangement
has been found to provide pressurisation zones along the base of
the upper curved part of the guide member 30. This is illustrated
in FIG. 4 by the areas 34, in contrast to the areas 36 from systems
without such a guide member.
[0032] FIG. 5 shows a second modified arrangement 40 in which the
guide member 42 has a varied profile with a number of
interconnecting faces 44, which meet at join lines 46. This has
been found to provide improved air flow at various wind speeds and
directions.
[0033] FIG. 6 shows a third arrangement 50 in which the guide
members 52 again has a number of different faces 54, but in this
instance the faces 54 are curved in contrast to the straight faces
44 in FIG. 5. The faces 54 are offset in a similar manner to that
shown in FIG. 3 such that the faces on adjacent divider plates 14
are at different spacings from the centre of the arrangement
50.
[0034] FIGS. 7 and 8 show a fourth modified arrangement 60 in which
a pair of spaced grooves 62 are provided in each dividing plate 64,
with the grooves 62 providing ridges 66 on the opposite side of the
respective plate 64. The grooves 62 run essentially parallel to the
guide member 68 such that they extend vertically in a lower part,
and curve outwardly to correspond to the profile of the guide
member 68. This has been found to help airflow towards the centre
of the system.
[0035] Whilst it has been described above that the dividing plates
extend through slots in the guide member, it may be that the plates
engage against the guide member and are profiled accordingly.
Grooves may be provided in the guide member to receive edges of the
divider plates.
[0036] Various other modifications may be made without departing
from the scope of the invention. For example, the guide member may
take a different form and/or may be made differently or from a
different material.
[0037] Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw
attention to those features of the invention believed to be of
particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant
claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or
combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in
the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed
thereon.
* * * * *